Indiana Sends Gun Makers to Trial

The Indiana Court of Appeals gave a unanimous decision today to allow the city of Gary, Indiana's lawsuit against gun manufacturers to go to trial in 2009. The Gary lawsuit will take 16 gun manufacturers and six gun dealers to trail to determine their possible responsibility in "sales practices that funnel guns to the criminal market," according to The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

The Indiana Court of Appeals decided that the 2005 federal "Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act" did not protect gun makers from prosecution for violating laws that protect the public. Basis for today's decision was based on a previous case, Gary versus Smith & Wesson Corporation in 2003, in which the Indiana Supreme Court held that the city had a legitimate claim to hold the gun maker responsible for a faulty system of distribution that put guns in the hands of criminals.

Smith & Wesson had moved to dismiss the case in 2005 when the "Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act" was signed into law by President Bush, amid controversy that the gun industry had lobbied for the new law due to the many lawsuits springing up against the gun industry around the country. However, the next year in 2006, the Lake County Superior Court found that the protection law was unconstitutional. The ruling today in the Court of Appeals sidestepped the issue of constitutionality because the Court ruled that the protection law or "legal shield" did not pertain to the City of Gary lawsuit.

This ruling today could have far-reaching consequences. There are similar cases pending in other states, including New York, Massachusetts, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania. Today's ruling was the first to be handed down by an Appellate court, and the first appellate court to deal with how far the legal shield can go to protect gun makers and dealers. Other lawsuits in smaller courts have returned similar decisions. Originally, there had been more than 20 similar suits against gun makers, but all but a few have been dismissed because of the legal shield.

The Gary lawsuit began when Gary police posed undercover as gun buyers in Northern Indiana. The gun purchases were taped and presented in court, and what the tapings showed was that the gun dealers knowingly sold guns to the cops without proper protocol or safety measures. The case was originally filed in court in 1999, and held that the gun dealers participated in misconduct and illegal sales practices. The gun manufacturers were brought into the case, as they sold guns through the dealers and in turn made profits off of the "diversion of guns to criminals."

In the press release, Paul Helmke, the President of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence said, "This ruling is an important victory for the people of Gary and the rest of Indiana who have suffered from the distribution of guns to criminals and gun traffickers because of the practices of the gun industry. When the gun industry injures the public, it should be held accountable."

Brady Center attorney, Brian J. Siebel, and Tony Walker and Lukas Cohen of the Walker Law Group in Indiana are representing the City of Gary. Robert S. Peck of the center for Constitutional Litigation is also co-counsel on the case.

Sources: The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, Indiana Law Blog